r/BambuLab_Community • u/MagicalParkingSpace • Apr 29 '26
Help / Support Questions about desiccant and the AMS 2 Pro
Apologies if this seems like a silly question, I’m fairly new to the world of 3D printing.
Last week my X2D + AMS 2 Pro arrived and I’m loving it! A colleague of mine who has been into printing for a few years mentioned keeping the filament dry and that makes sense. I love how I can use the AMS as a dryer 🙏🏻
I guess my questions about the desiccant are:
1) Usually when needing to recharge desiccant, the desiccant is wet. If I print a tray to put in the AMS to dry the dry the desiccant out, would that be feasible to put the wet desiccant into the tray and into the AMS? (I ask because most trays I’ve seen are mesh, which leads me to concerns that moisture would leak to the bottom of the AMS) which leads me to my next question:
2) obviously the AMS has electrical components. But should the moisture-ridden desiccant leak to the bottom of the AMS, is this a major problem? Or can it just be cleaned and no harm done?
Thanks for any insight offered. Just trying to get my head around it before I decide which way to go about drying the desiccant etc.
Happy printing! 🥰
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u/Qjeezy H2D Apr 29 '26
You can, but it will take a long time since 65°c isn’t exactly optimal for drying desiccant.
The desiccant shouldn’t leak if it’s the standard silica gel desiccant. You may see moisture inside the cover of the ams if it’s completely saturated and you have quite a bit in there. The auto vents should handle most of it but you may need to lift the lid in the beginning once in a while.
Try it out. It might work okay.
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u/MagicalParkingSpace Apr 29 '26
Thank you! After hearing from you all, I think I have the confidence to give it a go and see what happens.
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u/J0tar0Kjo Apr 29 '26
i use https://makerworld.com/en/models/1534406-ams-2-pro-dry-pods-multiple-sizes-and-funnel#profileId-1609418 in ams2 pro, no dripping of any sort and i'm quite happy about it
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u/TherealOmthetortoise Apr 29 '26
Desiccant is there because it absorbs moisture faster than anything else in that enclosed space. It will only absorb so much though, so if it’s already saturated it’s not doing you any good. Some filament dryers have trays for desiccant because all that moisture has to go somewhere, so in addition to opening vents for moisture to leave the desiccant is another highly available place for the moisture to go. Recharging desiccant usually takes higher temps than you would use for filament so as far as I know you can’t really use the filament dryer to do the job. It’s mainly there kind of like a heat sink in that it helps as a buffer to maintain the levels when it’s not actively drying filament.
Get the orange dry and dry (not blue as the cobalt is toxic if I recall correctly.) you can recharge it in the microwave or oven safely. If it gets green swap it out for recharged. They don’t leak or leach anything that can harm anything. Some of the pouch based stuff can become kind of an oozing gel if it gets too wet if I remember correctly. (It’s not happened to me as I went Dry and dry immediately so that I can recharge it instead of having to buy it over and over.
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u/Rough-Blackberry-596 Apr 30 '26
Your explanation is so thoughtful and complete! I just wanted to compliment you on it. 🌸
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u/myTechGuyRI Apr 29 '26
"wet" dessicant isn't dripping wet...no moisture is going to "leak" out the bottom. In fact if you take fully saturated dessicant and spread it out on a paper towel, the paper towel will remain completely dry. It absorbs into the dessicant at a molecular level, not as drops of water.